1. Classrooms not Courtrooms and Virginia SROs
House Select Committee on School Safety
July 24, 2018
Gerard Lawson, Ph.D. & Laura Welfare, Ph.D. Virginia Tech School of Education

2. Keeping Kids in Classrooms not Courtrooms
This project was supported by Award No CK-BX-0007 and 2016-CK-BX-0021 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.
The research team includes Gerard Lawson, Laura Welfare, Kami Patrizio, and Yasuo Myazaki with assistance from Patrick Rowley, Kazuki Hori, Mary Norris, Kevin Krost, Cherie Edwards, Alison Bowers, Tom Bluestein and Ghadir Asadi.
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

3. Keeping Kids in Classrooms not Courtrooms
Our research was able to combine and analyze the Discipline Crime and Violence (DCV) Dataset (DOE), School Safety Audits and School Climate Data (DCJS), Juvenile Referrals and Intakes (DJJ).
We have also analyzed MOUs between Law Enforcement and School Districts, to assess whether and how processes and procedures impact the use of exclusionary discipline and referrals to LE.
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

4. Keeping Kids in Classrooms not Courtrooms
First some context…
CPI’s findings of 15.8 students referred to “police or courts”. They report using the US DoE Office of Civil Rights reporting, which in turn appears to have imported the “checkbox” in Virginia’s DCV dataset:
Was this incident reported to Law Enforcement?
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

5. Keeping Kids in Classrooms not Courtrooms
For the Combined Years & N=
Rate per 1000 Students
Checkbox
39,411
15.8
Potential Matches
10,668
4.2
True Match
5,715
2.3
2,488,217 students in Virginia schools in &
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

6. Keeping Kids in Classrooms not Courtrooms
Our data show that, of the “true matches” which appeared at intake associated with a school based offense, 48.0% resulted in a petition, and another 10.1% a petition with a detention order.
The remaining never appeared before a Juvenile Court judge.
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

7. Keeping Kids in Classrooms not Courtrooms
There are still some significant challenges….
Incidents of exclusionary discipline and referrals to law enforcement are higher among minority students and those with a disability.
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

8. Keeping Kids in Classrooms not Courtrooms
Cultural Differences in Exclusionary Discipline (per 1000) ST LT
365
Permanent
White students
M = 76.0
M = 1.1
M = .19
M = .05
Black students
M = 176.3*
M = 3.2*
M = .36**
M = .14***
Hispanic students
M = 1.4
M = .11
M = .06
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

9. Keeping Kids in Classrooms not Courtrooms
Commonwealth Schools’ Demographics
Actual Referrals to Intake Officer
White students
52.4%
42.5%
Black students
23.0%
49.4%
Hispanic students
13.1%
6.5%
Asian Students
6.4%
0.7%
Other
5.2%
0.1%
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

10. Keeping Kids in Classrooms not Courtrooms
Exclusionary Discipline based on Disability Status (per 1000 students)
* Significant at p<.001 ** Significant at p=.034 ST LT
365
Permanent
Overall
M = 82.46
M = 1.84
M = .251
M = .079
Students with a Disability
M = *
M = 3.41*
M = .377**
M = .141
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

11. Keeping Kids in Classrooms not Courtrooms
Appearances at Intake based on Disability Status (per 1000 students)
Appeared at Intake
Overall
M = 2.45
Students with a Disability
M = 5.60
School Year
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

12. Keeping Kids in Classrooms not Courtrooms
Lawson & Welfare, 2018
School Year

13. Keeping Kids in Classrooms not Courtrooms
School Year
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

14. Implications
Overall, things are much better than we anticipated, but with specific vulnerable populations we need to do much better. This will require coordinated efforts between teachers, school counselors, administrators, and SROs. So we wanted to learn more about how SROs are selected, trained, and supported in their work.
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

15. Virginia SROs and SSOs
Well-structured School Resource Officer (SRO) and School Security Officer (SSO) programs with clear policies, procedures, roles, and responsibilities seem more likely to achieve positive outcomes (Cray & Weiler, 2011), but there is limited empirical support for this assertion. This study explores variables related to Virginia SRO and SSO training, policy, and procedures.
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

16. Quantitative Data New Surveys 2017 School Safety Audit
265 SROs (of ≈ 700 invited)
60 SRO Law Enforcement Supervisors (of 136 invited)
45 SRO School-Based Liaisons (of 93 invited)
2017 School Safety Audit
≈ 2000 schools
≈ 1000 schools had an SRO
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

17. SRO Demographics Age range 24 – 70 with an average age of 43 years
83% Male, 17% Female
84% White, 7% Black, 4% Hispanic, 2% American Indian or Alaska Native, 2% Asian, 1% Multiracial
Earned GED or Equivalent
.5%
Earned a High School Diploma
12.5%
Completed Some College
35.5%
Earned an Associate's Degree
17.5%
Earned a Bachelor's Degree
25.5%
Completed some Graduate School
5.0%
Earned a Master's Degree
3.5%
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

18. SRO Training and Duties
How are SROs trained to operate in K-12 public schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia?
On what topics do they receive training?
How does their training compare to their actual duties?
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

19. SRO Duties
Law Enforcement Officer (ex. Respond to criminal activity and public safety threats)
Community Liaison (ex. Build relationships and identify resources)
Law-Related Educator (ex. Give presentations for students, parents, and school staff)
Role Model or Mentor (ex. Be professional, approachable, and compassionate)
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

20. Lawson & Welfare, 2018

21. SROs: Is your work documented?
SRO Role
Yes No
Law Enforcement Officer (ex. Respond to criminal activity and public safety threats)
99% 1%
Community Liaison (ex. Build relationships and identify resources)
49%
51%
Law-Related Educator (ex. Give presentations for students, parents, and school staff)
81%
19%
Role Model or Mentor (ex. Be professional, approachable, and compassionate)
30%
70%
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

22. SROs: §15.2-1706 Law Enforcement Officers with optional Virginia SRO Specific Training
High School Diploma or GED
Advanced Legal Issues in Virginia Schools
Certified Law Enforcement
Technology Related Search and Seizure
The Roles and Responsibilities of an SRO, SSO and School Administrator
Adolescent Brain Development
The Effect of Trauma on the Student
School Climate
School Discipline, Violence, and Suspensions
Mental Health Issues in Adolescents
Threat Assessment in Virginia Schools
Special Populations
Gang Awareness in Schools
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

23. Mandatory Law Enforcement Training
Training that applies to all settings
Average 56% but varied widely (sd = 24.9)
Training that applies to the school setting specifically
Average 22% but varied widely (sd = 16.9)
Training that usually does not apply to a school setting
Average 22% but varied widely (sd = 22.6)
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

24. SROs: More Training is Needed
Working with Students with Special Needs
Mental Health Issues in Childhood and Adolescence
Dangerous/Threatening Students
Bullying
Establishing Effective Working Relationships with Parents
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

25. Lawson & Welfare, 2018

26. Training about the SRO Roles
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

27. Training about the SRO Roles
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

28. Training about the SRO Roles
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

29. Law Enforcement/School Collaboration
MOU initiative and 2017 training guide
Law Enforcement – School Division Agreement
Also need individual awareness for execution of MOU
Day-to-day communication with liaison
Selection and evaluation of SROs
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

30. SROs: Who determined the duties of the SRO job?
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

31. SROs: Who is a part of selection?
Yes No
Other
Principals and Assistant Principals
1039
11.5%
86.4%
2.1%
SRO Liaisons 40
20.0%
75.0%
5.0%
SRO Supervisors 53
57.5%
35.2%
5.7%
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

32. School Discipline
To what extent are SROs involved in addressing school disciplinary matters that do not rise to the level of criminal activity?
Qualitative data analysis forthcoming
Involvement in school discipline as educator or mentor role appears common
What is bullying?
What is mutual combat?
Consultant to school leaders about referral to law enforcement
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

33. Lawson & Welfare, 2018

34. SROs: Role Awareness
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

35. SROs Feel Valued by the School
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

36. SROs Feel Valued by Law Enforcement
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

37. Implications Multifaceted role of SROs SRO Training Needs
Explore options for training SROs, school administrators, and teachers about the roles of SROs
SRO Training Needs
Mental Health Issues and Special Needs Students
Dangerous/Threatening Students
Bullying
Working with Parents
Law Enforcement – School Collaboration is key
Lawson & Welfare, 2018

38. Questions, Comments?
Gerard Lawson Ph.D. Professor
Laura E. Welfare, PhD
Associate Professor
Lawson & Welfare, 2018